Qantas internal memo suggests out-of-practice pilots are now making errors

Some formerly grounded Qantas pilots getting back in the air have lost their shine, according to a leaked confidential internal memo. That memo says some grounded pilots “have lost recency and experienced a subsequent reduction in cognitive capacity.”

A leaked Qantas memo suggests out-of-practice pilots are now making some rookie errors. Nine Entertainment’s Matt O’Sullivan broke the story overnight after obtaining a memo written by Qantas’ fleet operations boss, Captain Alex Scamps. He says some out-of-practice pilots are making basic errors that aren’t necessarily dangerous but reflect a recent lack of flying.

The memo identifies errors such as commencing take-off procedures with the park brake set, misidentification of altitude as airspeed, incorrectly setting cockpit switches, repeated unstable approaches, and a general lack of situational awareness.

“Routine items that used to be completed with a minimum of effort now occupy more time and divert attention away from flying the aircraft,” the memo read.

“Combined with reduced flying across the network, we recognize a flow-on effect for flight crew’s focus and familiarity with the operation.”

Qantas had parked many of its planes, leaving many pilots temporarily out of work.

The memo also referenced an infamous incident last year when the wheels on a Qantas jet taking off wouldn’t retract after the ground crew failed to remove two gear pins before pushing back. However, this incident could be categorized as an engineering error rather than a pilot error.

The Strategic Aviation Solutions Chairman says the errors are being picked up in training rather than on actual passenger flights. But Mr Hansford points to some ingrained cultural issues at Qantas that drive troublemaking behavior, such as, say, leaking memos.